With the rights to King's massive Gunslinger cycle up for grabs, Oscar-winner Ron Howard wants to tell the sprawling tale of Roland's hunt for the Man in Black as both a feature film and a TV series.

For a good long while, the Lost brain trust — J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and Carlton Cuse — controlled the rights to King's Dark Tower series, and were planning on making it their television reunion after Lost ran its course. (And Lost has been littered with King references throughout its run.) But according to the Hollywood Reporter, the rights have been returned to King, and Howard — along with producer Brian Grazer and writer Akiva Goldsman — are chomping at the bit to execute their film-to-TV show grand scheme.

Howard's track record with book adaptations is hit-or-miss. Generally, when the book is good (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind), the movie turns out good. But if the book sucks ass (The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons) he can't save it — and there's still no explaining the nightmarish mess that was How the Grinch Stole Christmas.